Warrior Without A Path
by FenixTragedy
Summary: Set at the beginning of fifth year. Fenix is on of the only transfer students in Hogwarts' history, and the only half breed to ever be accepted into a European Wizarding School. With the name Fenix Arrades, meaning "Warrior without a path" in Elvish, she has a lot to live up to. Story includes many Historical facts about the magical world. Rating mostly because of language...
1. Chapter 1

King's Cross was more crowded that I could've ever imagined. Owls were screeching, rickety carts were rolling, and everything settled into the hum of the atmosphere. People were appearing through the wall every second, each with a family that accompanied them to say goodbye. I had made this journey completely alone, and in that moment I was thankful. Navigating through the platform was difficult enough all by myself. Trying to keep track of others in this crowd seemed like a nightmare. I wove my way through the mass of people, getting shoved this way and that. A particularly rough shove almost landed me on top of a family of red heads, but I caught myself just in time to see a massive black dog put his front paws on a messy haired boy with glasses.

Finally I managed to make my way to the train. I was one of the first students on board, and I had no trouble finding an empty compartment. I put away my belongings and stretched out on the bench. I could hear everyone steadily boarding the express, and when I glanced up at the window in my compartment door, I saw students flitting by in both directions, desperate to find their friends as soon as possible. `I returned my gaze to the stark white ceiling and let my mind drift. I refused to think about the events of the last year, so instead I focused on my burning curiosity about Hogwarts. I was entering year five, and I had never stepped foot in the school. One of the only transfer students at Hogwarts in centuries, and the first half breed to ever be accepted to a European Wizarding school, I was terrified of what people would think. They wouldn't know of course. Dumbledore had arranged for Professor McGonagall to transfigure my more prominent elfish features into more human like traits. I had a temporary charm on me right now, but that would wear off before the night was over. I wondered how she would make me look. Would she take away my purple eyes, my sharp teeth? I knew my long ears had to go, but what about my waist length silver hair? What about my belly gem? I almost laughed aloud at the thought.

A wizard's magic couldn't touch an elven belly gem. They are pure, concentrated magical energy. Elves, the ancestors of all human-like magical beings, and one of the Elder Clans. Very few of the original magical clans survived throughout the millenia, the most prominent survivors other than elves were the centaurs. Wizards were nothing more than a half breed species that grew way overpopulated. How then, did they become the leaders of the magical world? The wand. Instruments crafted from the finest woods, wrapped around hairs and feathers and whiskers from purer magical beings. They managed to channel all of their energy through the wands, and then refused to share their secrets with the rest of the world. The wizard's stubbornness lead to three wars, and by the time the magical world was at peace, 6 of the Elder Clans had been wiped out, never to return.  
A tapping at my door interrupted my inner history review. A pretty girl with curly brown hair was standing outside with an expectant look on her face. She waltzed in a plopped down on the bench next to me.

"My name's Hermione Granger, and I'm a prefect. They told us in the prefect cart that their was a new student- not like the first years- but one who was entering at a higher year, and we were suppose to introduce ourselves if we saw you, at least I think its you, because I know most everyone in our year and I don't remember ever seeing you. So do you have any questions about Hogwarts?" The girl, Hermione, finally took a breath. I had a feeling she was one of those do good people who wanted everybody to like her. She was still looking at me expectantly, and I remembered she had asked me something.

"No, Everything has been pretty much explained to me," I answered, wincing at my voice. No matter how much I could warp my physical features, nothing would be able to change my elvish voice and accent. I tried to speak more rough so my voice wouldn't be so airy. "Thanks for stopping by though. I'm sure you have some prefect stuff to do, so don't let me waste your time," I told her. I wasn't trying to get rid of her; I truly felt bad for taking up her time, but she just smiled and replied, "Actually, I've just finished patrolling the halls. Do you want to come with me and sit with my friends? They're in our year."

She looked so friendly, and she gave me hope that maybe this move wouldn't be all bad. I accepted her offer and followed her out of the compartment.  
We entered a compartment that held a wide eyed blonde girl, an uncomfortable looking boy holding an exotic plant, a ginger, and the boy from the platform who was with the dog. "Hey guys," Hermione said. "This is our new transfer student... Erm, whats your name?"

"My name is Fenix Arrades," I answered.

"Feeenicks Erridiz?" the ginger boy repeated with difficulty, slaughtering my name.

"_Ron_, its pronounced Fenix Air ah dess. It's obviously Elvish," Hermione said, then she turned to me. "What does it mean?"

I was surprised she had recognized my name so easily. Yes, it was unordinary, but hardly identifiable as Elvish. "It means 'Warrior without a path'," I mumbled. They stared at me, and I could literally feel the questions behind their eyes. I didn't want to have to explain everything so soon. Luckily, my stomach rumbled loudly, and I had slipped out of the compartment with an excuse about leaving my lunch in my compartment.

I tried to go back to my empty compartment, but some students had migrated into it in my absense, so I ended up in a compartment with three terrified- and thankfully silent- first years. There I curled up in a corner and blocked out the world until I noticed the sky getting dark and I felt the train start to slow down. We were in Hogsmeade.

I got off the train and scanned the platform. He stood out easily enough. His all black cloaks and tall figure was easily distinguishable from the students. I cracked a real smile for the first time in weeks and ran toward him just like I did every year on my birthday when he came to visit. I reached him and threw my arms around his neck. "Hey dad."


	2. Chapter 2

I looked up at the man I hadn't seen in over a year. This man dominated my birthdays and every holiday season. He was exactly the same as he was last time I had seen him. His hair still needed a good washing, and he smelled of odd potion ingredients, and he had a hooked nose- my nose.

I grinned up at him, and waited for him to say something. After a few moments of silence I finally absorbed his expression. He had a poker face on, and I knew I was in trouble for something. Finally he spoke, "I've arranged a quicker ride to the castle so you can meet with Minerva before the sorting ceremony."

"...Okay."

He lead me over to a threstral and said, "Be careful, this one isn't in a good mood today."

I rolled my eyes. No animal was ever in a bad mood with me. I hopped on the threstral with ease and, remembering that I was in trouble for something, said "Race you to the castle!" before taking off at full speed.

I could hear him calling after me, but I just urged the threstral to go faster. I glanced back and saw him racing after me on his broomstick, a slightly less tense expression on his face.

The castle was drawing closer, and I had just started to descend when I saw him go whizzing by me. He landed on the front steps a full two minutes before I did. "Never challenge someone on a broom, when all you have is a threstral," he said teasingly. His mood had certainly lighted.

He knew as well as I did that I had never ridden on a broom before, and I was quite frankly terrified at the thought. Even though I had been brought up in the wizarding world, I still had doubts that a broom could hold me up without and wings or a brain.

"I'll take care of 'er for yeh," a man said from behind me.

Startled, I whirled around and looked up. and up, and up. This man was huge! With my neck craned all the way back I could make out a wildly over grown beard that faded almost seamlessly into his equally overgrown hair. Despite his wild appearance, there was something adorable about him, like a worn out teddy bear.

I stepped away from the threstral and let him lead her away. Severus watched him go with much dislike in his eyes. Then he motioned for me to follow him inside the castle. Even though his mood had gradually improved on the way over here, I needed to know what I had done to make him so distant at the platform.

"Hey dad, am I in trouble?" I asked tentatively.

He peered down at me, debating something in his head, but remained silent and shrugged.

I stopped dead in my tracks. "You're upset about something, and you're not telling me!" I said.

His mouth twitched. Those words were the same words I had once used when my mom and him had just finished fighting, and when he had to tell me it was time to return home for the summer. Those words were my secret weapon because it reminded him that I was still his little girl at heart. "Your mother sent me a few pictures with her last letter. I must say, I do not appreciate your taste in _men_," he said, stressing the word men. His mood darkened once more.

Shit. Daddy's little girl wasn't suppose to be dating, and she certainly wasn't suppose to be dating guys who were five years older than her and who had tattoos and piercings. Not sure what to do, I smiled meekly up at him and thanked my lucky stars that Proffessor Mcgonalgall decided to show up at that moment.

"Auntie Minnie!" I said and gave her a hug. She chuckled at the name. I knew most of the teachers from my childhood visits to Hogwarts. She was my favorite, because she could turn into a cat and make all my toys turn into funny creatures with silly faces.

"Now Fenix, you know that I am your teacher now, and you can't call me that," she said, not as sternly as she had probably intended.

I followed her into her office and sat down on the top of her desk. "So are you going to turn me into a wizard looking thing?" I asked. The charm had worn off an hour ago.

She nodded, and waved her wand, muttering as she went. I felt my ears shrinking down, and my teeth flattening out. When she was finished she handed me a small mirror. My silver hair was now a deep black, and my eyes were green.

As I was looking myself over, Minnie warned me, "Remember that those transfigurations aren't strong enough to hold back Elven magic. If you get to angry, or feel any emotion too strongly, you will break the enchantments. I can always recast them, but try to control your emotions if you want to blend in."

I nodded.

"Good, now if you'll excuse me I have to go attend to the first years. Proffessor Dumbledore will want to speak with you before the ceremony so you'd best go find him. I expect he'll be outside the Great hall right now."

Many students were flooding into the Hall when I arrived. Luckily, Proffessor Dumbledore didn't exactly blend into the crowd. He waved politely at the many students, and when he caught my eye he beckoned me over.

"Hello Fenix. I expect you're a bit nervous about your first day," he said kindly.

I shrugged casually but he saw right through me, and smiled sympathetically. "I know it's going to be hard being the new kid in a school where that doesn't exist yet, but I promise the attention will die down in a few days. Hogwarts students are easily detterred by the many rumors that flood through this school. You can still take me up on my offer to sort you individualy, after the feast."

The offer was tempting, but if I wasn't sorted with the first years, then I would be doomed to answering questions about why no one had ever seen me before for months. However, there was one other offer I wanted to take him up on. "Proffessor? Could you do me a favor before the sorting?"

* * *

I stood with the first years in the middle of the Great Hall. I was at least a head taller than most of them, and I was receiving many curious stares, but I ignored them and simply waited. A few centuries later, Aunt Minnie brought out a stool and an ancient witches hat. Dumbledore stood and a wave of silence swept through the hall.

"Welcome returning students," his voice boomed. "and welcome new students alike. I am pleased to announce that this year, Hogwarts will be welcoming our first transfer student in a century."

Every eye went to me. I am not exaggerating. I remember thinking I was going to melt under thier gazes. While I was having a mental meltdown, Dumbledore rambled on about sticking together, and being united. I later found out that a student had been killed the year before, but at that particular moment I was completely ignorant of the situation.

"Let the sorting begin!"

The hat twitched slightly on its own. Then it visibly moved, stretching upwards quite noticably. I was super confused when it burst into a song. The song told me about the houses. My only prior knowledge was about Slytherin and that came from my mother's heated words, "You'll probably end up in Slytherin, like your father. Anything other than a pureblood that ends up in their is destined to go bad." The houses were based on the founders. Gryffindor valued bravery, Ravenclaw value intellect and cleverness. Slythering valued heritage and pure lineage. From what I gathered, Hufflepuff was for people who weren't particularly brave or smart, and who didn't have a good family history. So basically I reeeaaally hoped I didn't get put in Hufflepoof. Hufflepuff. Whatever.

Minnie pulled out a roll of parchment, and called of the first name on her list. It was alphabetized. Slowly she crept down the list, and the group of students dwindled. The hat was calling out the names of houses at different rates. Sometime it yelled out the house after barely coming in contact with someone's head, other times it took it's sweet ass time before announcing it's decision. There were only two people left who hadn't been sorted. Finally Minnie called out the words that made a second wave of silence sweep through the student body.

"Snape, Fenix!"

I shit you not, someone choked on the water they were drinking. Then the hum began. It started with a single whisper, but as I approached the stool, it grew into a buzz of the same word being repeated by a thousand students.

"_Snape_?"

"Did she just say Snape?"

"As in_ Proffessor_ Snape?"

I sat on the stool and felt the hat slip around my ears. The noise died down just enough for the students to hear his decision.


	3. Chapter 3

"Fenix, calm down."

"I will not calm down! I've been here for two minutes and I'm alreay a freak."

"It's not as bad as you think. Everything dies down eventually," Severus persisted.

"Remember the last time you told me that?" I spat.

He was silent. I felt a little bad about bringing that up, but I was too pissed to care.

I sat down at a desk and lay my head down on my arms. "Why did they do that?" I muttered into the table.

"Every student is required to take potions for five years, they all know my name. It was shocking to them that you were not place in my house," Severus answered.

"You knew I wouldn't be put in Slytherin," I said.

"I wouldn't say that. I was curious as to how the hat would decide in your case. In all honesty I had a shred of hope you would be placed in Slytherin."

I lifted my head to look at him and cracked a grin. "You just wanted to keep an eye on me," I teased.

"Well, I've seen your taste in boys..." he replied with a wink. "Now you best get to your dorm. Everyone should be asleep by now. Don't get caught after hours. It won't look good."

"Dad, all the teachers here have known me since I was two-"

"And all have been instructed that you will be receiving zero special treatment. Now scoot."

All the girls were fast asleep when I crept into the dorm room. My bed was in the corner, completely bare of decoration. A window was right next to my bed and I opened it and stuck my head out. I could see the forbidden forest, my childhood sanctuary. I had spent hundreds of afternoons playing right at the edge under the watchful eye of whatever teacher my dad had convinced to babysit me. The dark woods still called to me, and I itched to go exploring, but I would have to wait until I wouldn't get caught.

I lay in bed and pulled the curtains around me so I could ignore my roomates. Sleep did not come easy. I kept thinking about the sorting. The booming decision of the sorting hat that echoed across the silent hall. I could take that. I expected people to be surprised. I didn't expect what they did. I walked down to the table, and headed toward the only familiar thing I saw. The girl with the curly brown hair. I squeezed in next to her and her friendliness had evaporated. She tossed my an obviously forced, uneasy smile.

"Freak!" a girl coughed into her hand.

I looked to see who it was, and was faced with an entire table of glares, each face showing utter hatred. Scowls and venomous hisses were everywhere I turned, but the worse one was the boy sitting directly across from me. His eyes had icy fire in them, and I could see that his jaw was clenched. He literally made me flinch, and I wished more than anything that I had sat somewhere- anywhere else. The boy didn't even give a weak cheer or an awkward clap like the rest of the table when the last student was sorted into Gryffindor. I had been sorted into the house of the brave, and I had never felt more terrified.

It took me hours to shake the image of the icy glare from the boy with the almond shaped green eyes.

I didn't bother going to the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning. I knew that Severus would have my schedule, and I ate weird elf food anyway. I thought about wandering the castle, but I decided to wait until I would have plenty of time to get lost and then get unlost.

I ended up just going down to the dungeons to get my schedule and talk to Severus. "You do understand that you will have to interact with people at some point in time," he told me when I showed up in his quarters.

"I accept that challenge," I said.

He mumbled something not worth repeated as I left. My first class was transfiguration, with Hufflepuff.

I wasn't sure what would be worse, to sit in the front and feel the stares bored into the back of my skull or sit in back and actually see the stars. Ultimately, I didn't have the choice because by the time I got there, only one seat was remaining. Just my luck, it was right behind Mr.-I-can-throw-knives-at-you-with-my-eyes. Wooh.

I got a lovely Fuck-you glance from him as I sat down. Aunt Minnie-Proffessor McGonagall basically gave us a boring lecture about the O.W.L.s and what to expect as fifth year students.

I continued to receive death looks from King Cock and his ginger sidekick. About the seventh time I received one of his award winning glares, I leaned forward and hissed, "What is your problem with me? I don't know you from Merlin!"

"Don't talk to me, Snape," he snapped.

So that's what it was about. My friggin name. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley is there something you would like to share with the class?" McGonagall demanded. They had been muttering. Potter? Oh, this was rich.

"No Proffessor McGonagall," they said in unison, with angel faces on.

"Then I suggest you pay atttention! I'm not speaking for my health, you know!"

The second she went back to lecturing I leaned forward again. "Potter, huh? The Boy Who Lived," I jeered. He tensed up. "You're pathetic. Judging someone on a name when you've been nothing but a name your whole life. Tell me, Potter, what's it like for people to act like they know you the second they hear your name?"

That shut him up for the rest of the class and stopped the looks, but I could see him fuming. In Herbology, he stood as far away from me as possible.

I thought I was done with him until it was time for lunch. I was in the common room, levitating an old spell book, bored out of my mind when Potter's ginger friend came up to me.

"Oy," he said, breaking my focus. "Er, my name's Ron. Ron Weasley."

Why the hell was he introducing himself to me? I had just unleashed my full bitch mode on his friend.

"I just wanted to tell you- Look Harry feels bad about being mean, ok?" he said.

I was still in a bad mood. "What, Mr. Famous has minions to go make crappy apologies for him?"

"Ya. No! He had to go- He's busy."

"Whatever. It's not like he's the only one doing it," I said motioning to the group of third years who were eyeing me. "I just don't really know why everybody hates me."

"Seriously, you don't know?" Ron said, surprised. "Your dad is Snape!"

"Really? Thank you for enlightening me who my father is," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

The boy sighed and sat down. "Snape is the head of the Slytherin house, which is the house that Gryffindors naturally hate. Well, most everyone but Slytherins hate Slytherins. They have this attitude that just because they're pureblood, then they're better than everyone. So, everyone kinda thinks that since Snape's your dad, and he's head of Slytherin-"

"They think that I think I'm better than them," I finished.

"Well yeah."

I was hurt. All my life people looked down on me because of my blood, and now suddenly everyone saw me as one of those people.

"I'm not like that. I'll never be like that, but that doesn't matter because everyone already thinks I'm like that," I said, to no one in particular, but Ron answered anyway.

"Don't worry, people are more concerned with last years events than the gossip about the new girl."

"What happened last year?"

"I'll tell you later. We're going to be late for Defense Against the Dark Arts." 


End file.
